By the time Zhang Heng dragged the naked man to the beach, both of them were exhausted.
Zhang Heng did not even know how he managed to swim the last part of the way back. When he approached the man, he found out that his lumbar spine was injured, and his thigh was cut by the reef. He could not move at all. No wonder he could only float like a water bottle.
It was not an easy task to drag him back.
Along the way, Zhang Heng could not help but give up several times. He did not expect this guy to have such a good mentality. Instead, he kept cheering him on.
In the end, Zhang Heng gritted his teeth and hauled the man ashore.
The two lay on the beach for a while. Zhang Heng did not even want to move his little finger. If he could, he would have closed his eyes and fallen asleep right now.
Unexpectedly, after only two minutes, the naked man spoke again, "Hey, bro, we can't do this. We are not far from the equator, and the temperature at noon can reach thirty-five or thirty-six degrees. If we continue like this, we will soon be dehydrated."
"…."
"I'll get you to a cool place now." Zhang Heng took two deep breaths, gathered a little more strength, and dragged the man to a rock wall. He even took off his T-shirt and bandaged the wound on his thigh.
After that, Zhang Heng was so exhausted that he could not even throw a stone. Fortunately, he picked up a few coconuts that had fallen to the ground a little further away.
The naked man saw that Zhang Heng was about to smash the coconuts. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something but hesitated.
"Hmm?"
"I don't want to be insatiable, but if it's possible, please give me some green coconuts. These coconuts that fall on the ground are already old. The milky white juice inside may cause diarrhea. On a barren island like this, it's very dangerous."
"You seem to have a lot of wilderness survival knowledge?"
"I spent some time in the army, and I spent more than two years hiking through the Amazon rainforest. So, yes, I think I can be considered an expert in wilderness survival."
Zhang Heng knew that he had made the right bet. Sure enough, in an excellent game, there would not be a checkpoint that completely killed the player. He knew that the man in front of him was his only hope of survival on this deserted island.
However, he couldn't help but be curious about who the other two fellows were.
After all, in terms of difficulty, saving the naked man was the easiest. According to the consistent thinking of the game designers, the more effort you put in, the more generous the rewards will be.
However, Zhang Heng did not regret it. He knew his own physical condition best.
It was already very difficult for him to save the naked man. Even if he could swim to the other two, he would not have the strength to bring them back.
What's more, the man in front of her with a receding hairline at least looked easy to get along with.
As an initial teacher, sometimes attitude was more important than ability.
Sure enough, he heard the other party say, "Friend, can you help me find some green coconut? My throat is too dry. I'll teach you how to find water later."
"No problem." Zhang Heng took the opportunity to rest for a while and recover some of his stamina, just enough to satisfy the other party's needs.
This time, he smashed down fourteen coconuts in one go. He gave five to the naked man and ate three for himself. The remaining six were stored as food.
After drinking the coconut juice, the naked man looked a lot better. He held out a hand. "I haven't introduced myself. My name is Ed Wilson. Wilson, Englishman, former captain of the British army in Afghanistan. Just call me Ed. Thank you very much for saving my life. "
"Zhang Heng, Chinese. Still a sophomore. You're welcome." Zhang Heng shook hands with the former British Army Captain in Afghanistan.
After that, the latter's tone suddenly turned gloomy. "It's a pity for those two fellows. There's no land around here other than this island. I'm afraid they didn't make it."
However, the man named Ed obviously had good self-control. After a moment of sadness, he regained his optimism. "Alright, according to our agreement, I'll fulfill my end of the bargain and teach you how to find water."
"When I was at sea, I roughly estimated that this island should be about 120 hectares in size. I found some animal tracks near the bushes, which means that there might be a stream on the island. You can find it by following the animal tracks, but at the same time, the bad news is that it also means that there are predators on the island. It's going to be night soon, and it's not a wise move to explore the island without a torch. You might get lost and be attacked by beasts …"
Ed patiently taught Zhang Heng survival skills in the wild. To make it easier for Zhang Heng to hear every word clearly, he deliberately spoke slowly.
Even so, Zhang Heng would interrupt him from time to time to ask about the meaning of certain words. Although Zhang Heng had a pair of parents who worked abroad, they only stayed at home for a short time and did not deliberately train Zhang Heng's foreign language skills.
Therefore, Zhang Heng's English was just an ordinary CET-6. Daily communication was not too much of a problem, but when it came to professional words, Ed had to explain.
With one teaching and the other listening, after twenty minutes, Zhang Heng finally figured out how to find fresh water in the wild. Following Ed's suggestion, he temporarily used coconut juice as his main source of water. At the same time, he searched the nearby stone walls. Not only did he successfully find a few small puddles, but he also found a natural cave.
It was about ten square meters in size and filled with bird droppings. The smell was not very pleasant, but the terrain was relatively high, so he did not have to worry about being swept away by the tide when he slept at night. More importantly, it was leeward from the wind. The island was still cool in the morning and evening, especially when the wind blew on his body, it would take away more heat.
As the sun set, Zhang Heng used the last bit of light in the sky to pick a few more coconuts to eat as dinner. After that, the two men in the cave said good night to each other.
As a city dweller, this was Zhang Heng's first time sleeping in the wild. Even though he knew that his mind and body were at their limits and in urgent need of rest, he still could not close his eyes for a long time. Whether it was the smell of bird droppings in the air, the hard rock behind him, or the unknown insects crawling across his arms in the dark … everything was tormenting his nerves, making him restless.
Ed suddenly said, "Zhang, have I ever told you what is the most important thing for survival in the wild?"
"What?" Zhang Heng did not hear any movement behind him for a long time, thinking that the man had fallen asleep.
"Survival skills are very important, there is no doubt about that, but it is even more important to keep yourself optimistic. When you feel tormented, you can think of happy things. Tell yourself that maybe tomorrow, a ship will pass by here and bring me back to civilization." Ed's attitude was as positive as ever.
Zhang Heng sighed to himself. If this was really a game, then it was impossible for a ship to pass by in the next forty days. However, Ed's words did make him feel a lot better. Most importantly, it made him realize that he was not alone. Zhang Heng was not a person who liked to complain.
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